Oaklandís head volleyball coach Dave Schmidlin
and his team came into 2004 with high hopes. The Golden Grizzlies had just
come off a season in which they fell just short of qualifying for the
Mid-Continent Conference tournament, posting their best record in
conference play since entering the league. But the loss of four seniors,
the teamís leader in points also leaving the squad and an injury left the
Golden Grizzlies with just nine players in uniform to begin the season
with. The result was that the squad struggled to get off the ground
against a tough non-conference schedule and finished 5-24 overall with a
3-11 mark in the Mid-Con.

Oakland opened up the
season with five straight losses, but bounced back for a huge victory at
home against Central Michigan on September 14th, the first ever
for OU against the Chippewas in 17 tries. The contest not only gave
Oakland its first win of the season, it showcased the skills of one of the
teamís freshman players. Chelsea Licavoli (Clinton Township, Mich.)
recorded 18 kills to lead all players in just her sixth game as a Golden
Grizzly. Coming out of high school with the reputation as a dangerous
server, she quickly proved to be a strong server at the collegiate level
as well, racking up a Division I school record of 42 aces during the year,
finishing second in the conference in that category. Midway through the
season she also found herself as the teamís starting libero and went on to
finish second on the team in digs with 215. Licavoli was recognized by the
Mid-Con for her solid season by being named to the leagueís all-freshman
squad, the second OU player to earn that honor.

Junior Heather Lippert
(Walled Lake, Mich.) got OU going in the right direction to kick off
conference play, leading the team with 20 kills at home against Centenary
in a 3-1 Oakland victory. Lippert proved to be a force to be reckoned with
in league play from her middle hitter position and wound up leading the
team in kills, blocks, and points. She was second in the Mid-Con with 1.25
blocks per game, and her 125 total blocks set a new school record for the
30-point scoring system. Lippert was rewarded by being named second-team
all conference.

After going through a
stretch of nine matches in which it only won two games, Oakland started to
show some progress during the second half of the conference season,
playing teams closer than it did the first time around and seeing five of
the final seven outings go at least four games. The Golden Grizzlies
completed the sweep of Centenary with a 3-0 win on the road and six days
later they knocked off Western Illinois at home in five games in an
exciting five-game affair. Lippert posted another great outing against the
Westerwinds, pounding out 26 kills to set a Division I school record,
while senior Karen Conger (Marysville, Mich.) chipped in with 12 kills and
13 digs. Conger finished the season third on the team in kills per game
with 1.76 and fourth in digs with 211. Lippert, who totaled 26 blocks in
three matches that week, was named the Mid-Con Defensive Player of the
Week for November 1st for her efforts.

Seniors Sara Miller
(Jackson, Mich.), Katie Lozier (Clinton Township, Mich.), Conger played
the final game of their successful careers at home against Valparaiso on
November 12th. Miller had five kills in the match, while
Lozier recorded seven digs against the eventual conference champions.
Miller finished the season second on the team in kills and points while
Lozier led the Golden Grizzlies with 262 digs.

Although the 2004 wasnít as successful as Schmidlin and the team would
have liked, the team did lay more of the foundation that will be needed
for success in the future. Next season Oakland will have a solid core
group of players will returning with Lippert, Becca Moller (Columbiaville,
Mich.), Erin Palmer (Centerville, Mich.), and Whitney Lane (East Kentwood,
Mich.) will all bring experience to the team as seniors in 2005. Along
with the Golden Grizzliesí young improving players such as Licavoli and
freshman Kellie Kunkel (Chesterfield, Mich.), as well as a talented
incoming freshman class, Oakland should have the tools in place to take
the next step up the Mid-Con ladder towards a conference tournament berth
in 2005.